Adrianna Vineyard White Stones Chardonnay
⏳ Drinking Window
Typically best enjoyed 3–15 years from the vintage release, with the structure to age beautifully.
🍽️ Food & Wine Pairings
Grilled lobster with butter, roasted poultry, creamy mushroom risotto
✨ Technical Specifications
Hailing from the legendary Adrianna Vineyard in Gualtallary, situated at an extreme altitude of nearly 1,450 meters in the Uco Valley, the White Stones Chardonnay is a masterclass in high-altitude viticulture. The wine takes its name from a select parcel covered with oval, calcium carbonate-coated stones from an ancient riverbed. These white stones prevent deep root penetration, forcing the vines to struggle, while reflecting sunlight and retaining cool night temperatures. This unique terroir imparts a distinct, Chablis-like minerality and razor-sharp acidity to the wine. Fermented with wild yeasts in French oak barrels, it undergoes partial malolactic fermentation to balance its piercing freshness with a subtle, creamy texture. The result is a profound, mineral-driven white that redefined the potential for Argentine Chardonnay on the global stage.
🍾 About the Producer
Founded in 1902 by Italian immigrant Nicola Catena, Bodega Catena Zapata is the preeminent pioneer of modern Argentine viticulture. In the 1980s and 1990s, third-generation visionary Nicolás Catena Zapata revolutionized the domestic industry by venturing into extreme high-altitude Andean terroirs, most notably planting the famed Adrianna Vineyard in Gualtallary at nearly 1,500 meters above sea level. Today directed by Dr. Laura Catena and celebrated winemaking director Alejandro Vigil, the estate pairs rigorous micro-terroir research through the Catena Institute of Wine with precision viticulture across alluvial, limestone-laced gravel soils. Fermentations frequently incorporate whole clusters and indigenous yeasts, vinified in concrete, oak foudres, and French barriques to preserve freshness, structural nuance, and site-specific tension. Benchmark bottlings such as the flagship Nicolás Catena Zapata, Adrianna Vineyard Mundus Bacillus Terrae Malbec, and Adrianna Vineyard White Stones Chardonnay stand as global archetypes of high-elevation South American fine wine.
🍇 Grapes
Chardonnay
🍷 ABV
12.5-13.5%